Dog Shopping We Go

Rescue is what I wanted to do. There are certain television shows in our family’s weekly DVR list that are based on rescuing animals and giving them a chance at forever homes. There is one show in particular I have been a fan of for several years that really opened my eyes to all the great dogs that don’t have homes. Although I thought rescuing wouldn’t be for me, I found myself slowly turning the tide and mentioned the idea to Cristina. No surprise here that she was all for it and so the hunt began to find the perfect dog to mesh with our family.

There is a local rescue we are drawn to that gets lots of national attention and they really need as much as they can get. With 300+ large dogs to take care of, being kept in a spot light helps tremendously. This particular rescue always talks about the importance of getting their dogs homes. After talking about it as a family, Cristina and I decided this would be where we would put in our application due to the amount of dogs this rescue had. With that conversation we put in our application choice for this precious baby:

I probably shouldn’t have done this but I KNEW this girl would be ours. Nothing could have been further from the truth. After waiting about 2 weeks we received a call back only to be told that they didn’t think she would make a good fit with our current dog who is 12 years old. They felt she would “aggravate the hell out of him.” I tried to explain that our dog Hanzel is well acclimated to dogs of all ages, sizes, shapes, and personalities. He has several dog friends and does well with everyone. I was still denied. They felt a puppy would not be good in our household.

Well instantly this left a bad taste in my mouth for rescuing. I knew any dog would be happy in our home. Not to mention we would never acquire another dog in our home if Hanzel, our Min Pin, would be unhappy. Needless to say this hadn’t deterred us and we applied to yet another rescue in the attempt to give another dog a forever home.

The following Saturday we met someone at a smaller local rescue and he asked that we bring our dog to meet the puppy we were interested in. We waited all day to go back at our designated time with Hanzel. The dogs met and everything was fine. Seemed like a done deal until they noticed Hanzel wasn’t neutered. Although their dog was altered they would only give her to us if Hanzel was as well. When I asked what is the purpose since their dog was fixed, the answer was that he may get out of our yard one day and impregnate other dogs. I replied had I gotten Hanzel as a baby I would have gotten him altered but I rescued him at 4 years old. I figured he had lived that way for 4 years I wasn’t going to put him through it. She stated again that without verification from our vet that the surgery had taken place, we couldn’t have their dog. And here is the kicker: Even if I do get him fixed they will not hold her and its possible I spend the money and put my aging dog in surgery for NOTHING.

And so I’m pissed. I’m pissed because the first rescue has many “lifers” there that could have possibly been adopted but are too choosy. I’m pissed because that first baby we wanted had already been there for 8 months and will continue to be there because you insist my dog will react a certain way when you don’t know him. I’m also pissed because the second rescue insisted that my dog could get out and whore around as if I am some unresponsible pet owner because I hadn’t gotten him fixed. I’m pissed because we dedicated a lot of time searching for the perfect dog and filling out these lengthy applications short of giving our blood type to end up empty handed.

Seriously all selfishness aside I REALLY wanted a Dogo Argentino or a French Bulldog. I, however, had put those feelings away and thought it would be best to rescue because all dogs at breeders will find a home. I wanted to do the right thing. I wanted to adopt. As I appreciate all the work these rescues do because it is a hard job, it leads me to believe that the reason so many dogs are at these places is because the interviewers are passing up good homes. Based on this experience, dog shopping we go.